The transportation of goods and commodities in cargo vessels such as trailer trucks and intermodal containers is well known. Cargo vessels are used to ship such diverse and wide ranging types of goods including packaged goods, unpackaged goods, bulk products, food products, carpeting, grain, fiber, shrink wrapped cargo, and palletized cargo. In order to accommodate such a wide range of goods and their various packagings, efforts have been made to design cargo vessels that have sidewalls that are strong, inexpensive, thin and light enough to keep the overall weight of the vehicle and the resulting shipping costs to a minimum. As is well known, cargo vessels typically comprise a front end wall, a back end wall having a door, a top, a bottom and two sidewalls. The sidewalls of such cargo vessels typically comprise an exterior skin that is connected to an interior liner via a support. For example, the sidewalls of standard well known dry freight cargo vessels have been made by riveting an exterior aluminum outer skin to a hat-shaped support such that the rivet heads protrude beyond the exterior aluminum surface. One or more pieces of plywood are then typically screwed or riveted to the other side of the hat-shaped supports to form an interior liner such that the screw or rivet heads pierce the interior plywood liner and such that the screw or rivet heads are visible on the interior plywood liner. Although such a standard dry freight interior liner is useful, it has several shortcomings. The screw heads protruding beyond both the interior surface of the liner and the joints where the plywood panels meet frequently snag cargo as cargo is loaded into and taken out of the cargo vessel. In addition, the rivet holes in the plywood liner weaken the strength of the liner and thus the liner is susceptible to cracking and splintering. These types of dry freight vessels are also undesirable because they are not multifunctional and often are unsanitary because the interior plywood liners have seams and cracks therein in which debris collects that is difficult to remove. Moreover, the interior plywood liner itself is not resistant to chipping and splintering such that the interior liner deteriorates and is more likely to catch and snag products inserted into and removed from the cargo vessel.
In addition to the above-described well known dry freight vessels, refrigerated-type vessels are also well known in the art. Typically refrigerated vessels are made by riveting an outer aluminum skin to one side of a U-shaped, hat-shaped, Z-shaped, J-shaped or T-shaped support member to form a subassembly. Styrofoam block furrings are then taped to an opposing side of the support bracket and the subassembly is stood-up and positioned on the bottom of the cargo vessel. Thereafter, a planar, rigid fiberglass-type liner material is riveted to the styrofoam furrings to hold the inner fiberglass liner in place. The rivets pierce the fiberglass liner and the rivet heads typically protrude beyond the surface of the fiberglass liner. After the exterior skin and interior liner are attached, an air space is formed therebetween in which foam is injected to provide insulation. The injected foam not only provides insulation, but it also provides support for the interior fiberglass liner and helps keep the fiberglass liner frown sagging between the U-shaped, hat-shaped, Z-shaped, J-shaped or T-shaped support members. Although this type of refrigerated cargo vessel has also been useful, it too has several shortcomings. For example, the rivets which attach and hold the interior fiberglass liner to the styrofoam furrings frequently snag cargo as cargo is loaded into and removed from the cargo vessel. Moreover, assembly of these types of refrigerated fiberglass liners typically require the temporary installation and subsequent removal of shoring in between the exterior and interior sidewalls of the cargo vessel which increases the time and cost of production. Shoring is necessary to prevent excessive bulging of the thin fiberglass liners during the foaming operation due to the pressure created by the expanding foam. As an alterative to shoring, a large and expensive press assembly is sometimes used.
Since cargo vessels having interior fiberglass liners can be used for hauling meat and other foodstuffs, torn or damaged liners quickly render the trailers unsuited for service because of the potential contamination of food with the fiberglass fibers of the lining and also because food and debris is trapped in the broken areas of the lining. Consequently, the thin fiberglass liners, typical in refrigerated cargo vessels, need prompt repair if they become damaged.
In addition to constructing a sidewall having liners that are light weight and snag resistant, it is also desirable to construct relatively thin sidewalls so that the total inside dimensions of the trailer body can be maximized in order to carry the optimum amount of cargo. However, in order to have a thin sidewall the individual components of the sidewall, i.e. the exterior skin, the supports and the interior liner have to be made of strong materials that are assembled in such a way to be snag-resistant and thin.
A need therefore exists for a new and improved sidewall for a cargo vessel having a seamless, snag-free, low friction interior liner that is made from one unitary piece of interior liner material and which is mounted to unique flying-W supports by a mounting means that does not at all pierce the interior liner, or only pierces the interior liner in areas that are not likely to come into contact with cargo. Likewise, a need also exists for a method of making such a sidewall.
A need further exists for a seamless, low friction interior liner that is mounted under tension to a plurality of supports such that the interior liner is able to be relatively snag resistant and which, in addition, is able to absorb and deflect punishment without being scratched, punctured or otherwise defaced.
An additional need exists for a thin, light weight and inexpensive cargo vessel sidewall having a seamless interior liner that maximizes the amount of cargo that can be loaded into the cargo vessel.
A need also exists for a seamless, low friction interior liner that is light reflective and sanitary such that it can be used to haul diverse cargo like packaged and unpackaged foods, grains, carpeting, shrink-wrapped cargo, palletized cargo and bulk products.